After a first set devoted to the early life and career of Muddy Waters – alias McKinley Morganfield, a sharecropper on Stovall Plantation and a guitarist inspired by Son House and the Mississippi Sheiks – Gérard Herzhaft presents this anthology dedicated to Muddy Waters’ work from 1951 to ‘59. In that decade, his music – “carrying the murmur of the Delta, the ambiance of the Deep South, almost the aroma of barbecued catfish” – was preparing to revolutionize the European scene where Muddy Waters would be worshipped as a hero by the future Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin

- “You’ll relish every note” par Blues Matters“As Chuck Berry astutely wrote; ‘RolI over, Beethoven – tell Tchaikovsky the news’. I make no apologies for proclaiming the blues to be the classical music of the pop world. As such, with the epic European composers, it’s damned difficult to decide who, among Beethoven, Mozart, Mahler or Bach, is more important. The same goes for what came out of Mississippi and Chicago. I listen to Howlin’ Wolf and say ‘yeah – he’s the man...’ then you’re faced with Robert Johnson or John Lee Hooker … yet in the end McKinley Morganfield, aka Muddy Waters, has to be the Beethoven of Blues. This 3-CD set of 30 tracks apiece is Muddy Waters at his peak. It kicks off with the atmospheric Long Distance Call and the suggestive Too Young to Know, and includes some lesser-known tracks such as Stuff You Gotta Watch and the curious Iodine in My Coffee. CD 2 plunges headlong into the Willie Dixon/Chess classics, including Mannish Boy and Hoochie Coochie Man, Mojo and Close to You, and the third CD, entitled The Crossover, takes us through a buzzing 1961 with nuggets like Tiger in your Tank, Messin’ with The Man and I’m Your Doctor. Fair makes your hair stand on end. Having had the privilege of seeing this giant live in 1982, hearing of his death aged 68 the following year felt like a body blow to the blues. He was so important in so many ways. There isn’t a voice to match his gritty, meaningful delivery. His slide guitar work on that battered Telecaster always thrills, and as for rock’n’roll in general, every guitars/bass/drums combo since owe him a debt. He invented the classic electric blues band line-up, and always had the very best harmonica players, among them Little Walter and Junior Wells, all featured here. If you need one Muddy Waters collection to preface the later, classic Johnny Winter-produced Hard Again, then buy this; you’ll relish every note.”Par Roy BAINTON – BLUES MATTERS